A single visit to a pet supermarket makes it readily apparent that there is a wide selection of rawhide and other synthetic chew toys manufactured and shaped for dogs and other carnivorous pets to chew on. Pet owners believe chew toys are desirable for cleaning the teeth of dogs and other pets, providing for dental hygiene and resulting in better breath. The chew toys also distract the pet from chewing on other objects such as shoes or furniture.
Many of these chew toys have been made from synthetic materials such as plastic, for example, nylon or even rubber to provide a long lasting chew toy. These synthetic chew toys are indigestible and may pose a health risk if the dog bites off a portion and swallows it. Secondly, these toys may lose a dog's interest because the toy typically has no flavor or other chew incentive.
Other chew toys are made from rawhide. Rawhide also has no inherent flavor and thus may lose a dog's interest after only a short chew time. To overcome the lack of flavor and taste of rawhide, many manufacturers have attempted to add flavor to the pet chew by adding jerky, natural flavors or even pig hide in addition to the rawhide. Flavors may also be injected into the rawhide, marinated into the rawhide, wrapped in the rawhide or impregnated into the rawhide.
Many people are concerned that the manufacture of rawhide is a relatively unregulated industry. The origins of the rawhide may be unknown and the degree of contamination of the rawhide with antibiotics, insecticides or other detrimental elements for example, lead, may also be unknown. Furthermore, rawhide provides no nutritional benefits and is only slowly digestible if at all. These concerns, whether they all be true or unfounded, initiate a desire for dog and other pet owners to seek alternative ways to provide a chew treat for a pet without the use of rawhide.
One such pet chew recently placed on the market is a product made from a solid molded wheat based material with glycerin, gelatin, monoglycerides of edible fatty acid, and natural flavor. It also contains chlorophyll which is marketed to improve the dog's breath. This molded plant material composite is molded into an elongated shape with one end shaped like a toothbrush head and an opposite end shaped like an epiphysis i.e. end of a long bone.
It is also known to make a jerky-like material both in texture and taste from soy protein isolate and wheat starch formed into elongated strips. It is also known to provide an extruded composite for dry diets formed from emulsified meat and grain meal byproducts.
It is also popular to have a treat made from a layer of rawhide or composite with rawhide and a layer or sheet of jerky laid onto the rawhide layer, the layers are then wrapped together and knotted to provide a bone like appearance. However, these multiple layer and knotted pet chews are relatively expensive. The whole sheets of rawhide are prone to produce waste and the sheets of jerky are expensive. The assembly of the multiple sheets of rawhide and jerky is also difficult to automate and thus is relatively expensive.
What is needed is an improved edible pet chew that has a single sheet of hardened and chewable plant based material that is initially malleable for folding, rolling or flexing into a final shape.